With festive gatherings on the horizon, Monica dives into two buzzworthy alcohol mitigation products, ZBiotic and Sure Shot, to explore their claims of reducing hangover symptoms and lowering blood alcohol levels. She breaks down the science—or lack thereof—behind these remedies.
With festive gatherings on the horizon, Monica dives into two buzzworthy alcohol mitigation products, ZBiotic and Sure Shot, to explore their claims of reducing hangover symptoms and lowering blood alcohol levels. She breaks down the science—or lack thereof—behind these remedies.
Nutrition Diva is hosted by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN. Transcripts are available at Simplecast.
Hey there! Thanks for tuning into the nutrition diva podcast. I'm your host, Monica Reinagel, and with the holidays just around the corner and festive gatherings filling up our schedules, I've noticed a surge in marketing for products that claim to lessen the effects or harms of alcohol. They promise everything from reducing blood alcohol levels more quickly to feeling better after a night out. And at this time of year, the idea of being able to party with fewer risks or consequences might seem especially appealing. But how much of this is backed by solid science, and how much is just clever marketing?
Today I’m going to give you my assessment of two products that you may have seen popping up in your feed recently: ZBiotic and Sure Shot.
ZBiotic is a probiotic liquid that claims to break down acetaldehyde, which is produced when our bodies metabolize alcohol. A build up of acetaldehyde in the body is linked to some of the unpleasant effects we might feel after drinking alcohol, such as headache, upset stomach, and so on. So something that breaks it down faster sounds pretty promising, right?
Just as a refresher, let’s review how alcohol is metabolized. When you consume alcohol, it enters your bloodstream pretty quickly through the lining of the stomach and small intestine. It then travels through the blood stream to the liver, where it's metabolized in a two-step process. First, the alcohol is converted by an enzyme (alcohol dehydrogenase, or ADH) into acetaldehyde. And then a second enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) converts the acetaldehyde into acetate.
If we are only taking in small amounts of alcohol, the whole process works brilliantly–efficiently converting toxic substances into harmless ones, which are then excreted. But if we drink too much alcohol or drink it too quickly, the body can’t keep up. Blood alcohol and acetaldehyde levels remain high, with a variety of toxic effects.
And this is where Zbiotic enters the chat. This liquid probiotic contains a strain of bacteria that's been genetically engineered to produce ALDH, the enzyme that converts acetaldehyde into acetate. The idea is that this extra ALDH will break down any excess acetaldehyde, thereby solving the problem.
The company has conducted research to prove that these bacteria do indeed rapidly break down acetaldehyde–at least in test tubes. They’ve also conducted research to show that the bacteria remain viable in the human digestive system.
There’s just one problem.
Although taking this probiotic could reduce the amount of acetaldehyde in your gut, the vast majority of the acetaldehyde that is produced in your system after you drink alcohol isn’t in your gut. It’s over in your liver–safely out of reach of these gut-based probiotic bacteria.
Because it’s not active in the liver, this probiotic isn’t going to significantly reduce the overall amount of acetaldehyde in your system. That means it’s unlikely to protect you from hangovers or, for that matter, from any of the more long-term consequences of alcohol, such as liver damage or increased risk of certain cancers.
The bio-engineering involved here–programming a bacteria to produce a specific enzyme–is definitely impressive and I’m sure there is potential here for some interesting applications. But from my perspective, this particular product misses the mark. It’s a little like striking a match in the kitchen when the candle you want to light is in the dining room. Right idea, wrong location
It’s also important to point out that this product also won’t reduce the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream–so it won’t keep you from becoming intoxicated or speed the removal of alcohol from your system.
Of course, there are anecdotal reports from users, saying that they feel much better the day after drinking when they take this product. That’s likely to be largely a placebo effect. Or, perhaps using this product somehow causes them to be more mindful or moderate about their alcohol consumption. But at around $10 per shot, it’s a pretty expensive placebo.
Next up is Sure Shot, which claims to be the world's first rapid alcohol reducer. Obviously, the idea of a product that could quickly lower your BAC is intriguing. If we could reduce the number of impaired drivers on the road by handing these out with the tab, that could potentially do some good. But before we get too excited, I think we need to approach this claim with a healthy amount of skepticism.
The product, which costs about $6 a shot, contains "a proprietary blend of vitamins, minerals, and botanical ingredients.” Many of these ingredients are commonly seen in products that claim to prevent or cure hangovers or support overall liver health–things like milk thistle and dandelion, B-vitamins, electrolytes, N-acetyl-cysteine, and taurine
It also contains 100 mg of caffeine per shot. Caffeine, of course, does not make an intoxicated person any more sober–just more alert. Plus, caffeine can interfere with your sleep, compounding the negative effect that alcohol can have on sleep quality. More to the point, none of these ingredients are known to directly impact the speed at which alcohol is metabolized.
The rate at which the liver can metabolize alcohol is limited by the availability and activity of the enzymes ADH and ALDH. And to date, scientists have not found any way to meaningfully speed this process up.
Now, just because something hasn't been done before doesn't mean it can't be done. Science is full of breakthroughs that once seemed impossible. So, while accelerating alcohol metabolism safely seems like a stretch based on our current understanding, it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Just as an aside, if you do an internet search for this product the first page or two of results are all press releases and articles in financial publications. This struck me as a bit unusual for a health product and suggests that attracting investors and driving up share prices might be the company’s first priority. But, who knows? Maybe they are trying to raise money in order to conduct more research–which I think would definitely be a good idea.
Up until recently, the evidence for this project seems to have consisted mostly of small, questionably-controlled trials. I wasn’t there myself, but I’m picturing a bunch of folks doing shots and then blowing into consumer-grade breathalyzers.
But now they are promoting a proper, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, in which they say that a double dose of Sure Shot (which, by the way, is a pretty hefty dose of caffeine!) reduced peak blood alcohol concentrations, acetaldehyde and aldehyde dehydrogenase levels, compared to placebo. There’s not a lot of detail about the actual methodology used, nor are they showing much in the way of actual data. And the language they use to describe the results is pretty ambiguous. When I read that the results or trends “favored” Sure Shot, for example, it led me to wonder whether those results were actually statistically significant or clinically meaningful.
It’s also a little perplexing that they claim to have seen reductions in both alcohol and acetaldehyde levels, because speeding up the conversion of ethanol would presumably increase acetaldehyde levels, at least temporarily. Similarly, the subsequent breakdown of acetaldehyde into acetate would likely require increased ALDH activity, not less. Now, these statements might well make sense depending on exactly how, when, and what they measured—but without more details, these findings raise at least as many questions as they answer. (Which, to be fair, is quite typical of early-stage research.)
We also don’t know much about the subjects used in this double-blind study. Based on what we know about alcohol metabolism and how heavy drinking can impact liver function, it’s possible that heavy drinkers (who might presumably be a key market for this product) might have really different results than occasional or moderate drinkers. For that matter, your age and sex will probably impact results, due to age and sex-based differences in alcohol metabolism.
So, until this study’s design and results have been thoroughly evaluated by an independent peer-review board, I think we should proceed cautiously. As I mentioned, though, the marketing push seems to be full-steam ahead. And, sadly, the sales potential for a product like this will probably not be limited by a lack of evidence.
I’m also concerned about the potential for a product like this to be misused. It’s not hard to imagine how something billed as a “rapid alcohol reducer” could actually encourage irresponsible drinking by providing a false sense of security.
I think these products tap into a desire many of us share: to indulge more freely in whatever we enjoy without the downsides. Unfortunately, whether it’s a product that claims to clear alcohol out of your system or one that allegedly keeps you from absorbing calories or sugar or carbs or whatever, we are all susceptible to a little wishful thinking – not to mention compelling marketing claims.
In terms of avoiding the harms of excess alcohol, here are a few tried-and-true (if not venture-capital-backed) strategies:
My goal isn't to dampen the holiday cheer but to help you make informed decisions. Science is ever-evolving, and who knows—maybe we'll see groundbreaking products that genuinely mitigate alcohol's effects in the future. But, in my opinion, the jury is still out on this one. So please celebrate responsibly!
Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. Our team includes Brannan Goetschius, Nathan Semes, Davina Tomlin, Holly Hutchings, and Morgan Christianson.and Nathaniel Hoopes.
I’d also like to invite you to check out my other podcast. It’s called the Change Academy, where we explore the art and science of creating positive behavior change, both in our own lives, and in our workplaces and communities. You can find it on all the major podcast platforms. Just search for Change Academy.
That's all for this episode. Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week.